


A Daydream Away

by TenSpencerRiedPlease



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Retail, And Bucky doesn't know how to accept gifts, Because he's a good person ok, Fluff and Angst, Humor, I almost cried writing this for real, So much fucking fluff, Tony is super generous, but it all works out in the end, im so emotionally compromised, it was supposed to be funny and then feelings happened, it's like 4 am though so that's probs why
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-14
Updated: 2016-11-14
Packaged: 2018-08-30 23:36:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8554141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TenSpencerRiedPlease/pseuds/TenSpencerRiedPlease
Summary: Bucky is notoriously bad with faces, so when one Tony Stark walks into one of his own stores for some unknown reason Bucky has no idea it’s him, he just figured the guy was new and who didn’t hate the customers?





	

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings for mentioned/ implied child abuse and I think that's it. If not let me know and I'll add it in.

Steve watches as _Tony Stark_ walks in and he knows immediately something is about to go horribly wrong. Stark’s eyes scan the store until he finds Bucky at the front of the store and starts forward. He exchanges a glance with Clint across the store and Clint lifts his hands, signing his worry for Bucky. He nods, knowing something was about to happen and he wasn’t looking forward to what that was.

The customer Bucky was dealing with leaves as Tony walks up beside him and Bucky turns to him, “I hate this job,” he says, clearly not recognizing Tony. Clint’s eyes double in size as he reads Bucky’s lips and he turns back to Steve, signing to ask if Steve just saw that. He gives a grave nod and starts trying to remember if he’s seen any ads for jobs that Bucky would be qualified for.

Stark’s eyebrows lift but he doesn’t seem too perturbed about Bucky’s comment. Yet. “That bad, huh?” he asks, lips quirking up a bit.

“The job itself is fine. I get paid alright and I get benefits, that’s better than most, it’s the customers that make me want to punch babies. Some people? Perfectly well adjusted individuals, ten out of ten, would deal with again. Others? Demons,” Bucky says, shaking his head. Tony Stark must have one hell of a sense of humor because he throws back his head and laughs.

*

Bucky is notoriously bad with faces, one time back when he and Nat were still together he didn’t recognize her after she got bangs. She was so pissed she off and dated Clint instead. It was cool, Bucky was fine with it because she and Clint were awesome together and he was fine with being single for awhile. He had Steve, they could cuddle and watch Netflix, which was mostly what he wanted out of a relationship anyways.

But when one Tony Stark walks into one of his own stores for some unknown reason Bucky has no idea it’s him, he just figured the guy was new and who didn’t hate the customers?

“Demons?” he asks, snickering.

“This place sometimes turns into Christian hell, I pray you never have to deal with the fucking old people. I had one old lady who came in every time she broke her phone, which would be reasonable, but by the fifth phone in two weeks and no visible damage I had to wonder what was up. The fucking old bat wasn’t charging them. She told me the batteries should last forever. I told her I’d get Tony Stark right on that, like I even have that power. I’m fucking cashier. And this old man? He came in looking for _French fries_. I thought maybe he had dementia or something so obviously I’m going to be a decent human being- he can’t help it- but nope. This dipshit thought the local Stark store sold _food_. There are smart phones, laptops, and other electronics everywhere, where is this old man going where they sell fries and laptops in the same place? Demons,” Bucky says, shaking his head at the not so fond memories.

The new guy doubles over laughing, “are you serious? She wasn’t charging them?” he asks.

“Dead. Fucking. Serious. I cannot make up the stupidity of the people who come through here. I mean I get that customers are necessary and all that, and I mean I’m obviously nice to them and shit but if I hear one more joke about the laptops being free because the damn things don’t like to do the bleepy thing I might murder someone. Like haha, I’m totally going to let you walk out of here with a machine that normally costs two thousand dollars for free, _not_. I’d get fired, and I at least like not working for minimum wage,” he says. It was half the reason he applied for this job, and when he found out about the benefits he made sure he knew everything he could about Stark tech so the other people who applied looked terrible next to him. It worked because he got the job.

Ever since then, though, he’s hated the damn customers. Sometimes people did stupid things, Bucky has _been_ there, but when they started blaming their own stupid mistakes on him he got annoyed. He did _not_ turn the Wifi button on and off again just to make the customer look stupid, why would he even do that? But no, like the old lady who didn’t charge her phone people were total shitheads. He didn’t have to pay full price for Stevie’s medicine though, and he ended up getting a job here too so that meant less financial pressure. And people actually dusted things here so Steve wasn’t constantly sneezing.

“Any other hilarious horror stories?” New Guy asks.

“One woman thought that her computer was being stalked by the government. Honestly, unless you have got some weird shit on there is the government really going to care about your looking up cat toys and Pintrest projects? I get _so many_ people in here going on and on about conspiracy theories. You know what, I know the government sees my shit and I hope they like my existential crisis memes and cat pictures. Jasper is cute as hell and the FBI or CIA or whatever better think so too,” he says. Even Phil, who hated cats, thought Jasper was adorable.

“Existential crisis memes?” New guy asks.

“Yeah, like every two days I loose all concept of who I am and then I stare in the mirror for like three hours contemplating the meaninglessness of my life. But I’m _here_ so I must have meaning because why make useless things? But then I think of mosquitoes and remember I’m inconsequential and when the earth burns up into the sun it won’t even matter if I’m super famous we’ll all be fire and death,” he says, eyes wide.

“Jesus Christ buddy, you have some serious issues but I like you,” New Guy says with a wide grin. Bucky smiles back because he’s pretty and Bucky has always been a sucker for a pretty face.

*

“He’s _who_?” Bucky asks, hands in his hair as Steve stares at him in horror.

“Tony. Stark. You told _Tony Stark_ that you hate your job. And then you told him all the customers were idiots, and then-” Bucky cuts Steve off.

“I get it Stevie, I got my gross existential crisis all over a fucking celebrity. Oh my god I am so fired,” he mumbles, putting his head on the break room table. There were times when he screwed up, and then he _screwed up_.

“He seemed to like you,” Steve offers weakly.

“To my face. Oh god I can’t even use this place as a reference, what have I done?” he mumbles. Steve pats his shoulder gently.

*

Tony hadn’t really been expecting anything when he had, for shits and giggles, walked into one of his own stores. The intent was to freak out a few staff members and walk out after telling them they were all doing fine but instead he found one Bucky Barnes. At first he thought Bucky was fucking with him- who the hell looked the son of the franchises’ owner in the face and tells him he hates the job- but it became increasingly clear he didn’t recognize Tony somehow. So he stuck around the guy just to see what would happen. Everyone _else_ knew who he was but it seemed they were content to let Bucky sink his own ship complaining about customers, except the stories wee so hilariously bad that Tony couldn’t help but laugh. It wasn’t like he had the patience to deal with people’s shit, why would he expect Bucky to? Besides, he was nice to the customers and that was all that mattered.

It wasn’t until Bucky came back from break looking pale and upset that he figured someone filled him in, probably that little blonde who has been trying to signal to Bucky to shut up for the last two hours. “You have any plans after work?” he asks casually.

“I plan not to get fired, I really do like those benefits and I kind of need them,” he says in a worried, stressed voice.

“Buddy, if I had some ignorant old bat come in and yell at me because she was too fucking stupid to work a phone I wouldn’t like her either. I’m not going to fire you for being annoyed with stupidity, there’s a reason I don’t work this job and it’s because I couldn’t handle it. You guys are all doing some excellent work putting up with really, _really_ dumb people. It’s impressive, and I appreciate the work you do. I asked what you were doing after work because I wanted to know if you wanted to go out.”

Bucky looks like Tony just offered him a sports car, which he supposed he kind of did. He blinks a couple times in shock, “I… I’m off at seven,” he says, frowning just a little.

*

There were things people expected and then there were things like this. Bucky sits across from Tony at some nice restaurant trying not to look like a goddamn trash baby. He thinks he fails because on his best day he looked like a cross between a dead raccoon and a corpse. Tony doesn’t seem to mind though, and his easy smile and confident demeanor calm Bucky a little as the night goes on.

“So, you go to school or anything?” Tony asks, head tilted in question.

“Nah. My roommate and best friend is in art school though, he’s really good.” He would have gone himself but he had no real talents and Steve did, so he offered to help and after a year of resistance Steve finally gave in. Steve was paying half the rent, groceries, and bills, so technically he was helping Bucky out too. That was the argument that finally won Steve over- Bucky couldn’t afford to live on his own so if Steve lived with him while he went to school he was technically making sure Bucky was okay too.

“Yeah? That’s interesting, I don’t really get art but people don’t really get tech either so. You know what I mean, you do the customer service thing. I doubt you plan on working there forever though, or I hope not. You have to have something else going on,” he says.

Bucky shrugs, “I’d go to school myself but I don’t have any real interests outside of like cultural theories and that isn’t going to get me a job so working at SI it is. It’s not the worst job I’ve ever had, that goes to dressing up as a mascot and getting my ass kicked by twelve year olds in an attempt to save money for Steve’s tuition and art supplies. I’m not proud of it, but I found out where every single one of those little fuckers lived and told their mothers what little assholes they all were. It helped that I had video evidence for the ones that claimed little Tommy wasn’t the goddamn anti Christ,” he says. He hoped those kids were still grounded and this was two years ago.

Tony winces and then laughs, “oh my god, little Tommy the anti Christ. But cultural theories are interesting, and there has to be a way to market that to get a better job than the one you have. It’s a crappy job and we all know it, even if those stupid hiring pamphlets try and act like you’ve been handed the best job ever. You pay for your friends’ tuition, though? Art doesn’t exactly pay well, why make an exception for him and not yourself?” he asks.

“Because Steve has talent and I don’t really. He can do something and I’m okay where I am. And yeah, I might not totally hate my job but if I never have to deal with some ignorant old person insulting technology and my entire generation while expecting the best customer service ever and technological help it will be too soon,” he says, grinning a little. He reaches for his water for something to do more than anything while Tony tilts his head to the side.

“And I paid for your education?” he asks and Bucky nearly spits out his water.

“What? Why?” he asks, trying his best to avoid choking.

“Because you’ve clearly worked your ass off to help someone else better themselves in a way that actually suits their interests. You gave your friend a break, you deserve one too,” he says.

Bucky bursts into tears.

*

Bucky didn’t make a habit of hanging out with his weed dealer in part because he didn’t buy much- the smoke irritated Steve’s lungs- but also because Steve hated the guy with a passion. But he had to tell _someone_ about this who wasn’t Steve. He’d tell him to take Tony’s no strings attached deal and Bucky actually believed that Tony didn’t expect anything. For all the flash and arrogance he’s seen from he guy on T.V he wasn’t much like that in real life. Flashy, yeah, confident, also yeah, but he wasn’t nearly as much of the ass as he was whenever Bucky saw him on T.V.

“You met Tony Stark and he offered to fund your education?” you must be _damn_ good at sucking dick,” Brock says. Bucky rolls his eyes; this was why Steve hated him so much.

“That wasn’t a thing that happened, or something that was mentioned,” he says. Usually he would assume that Tony would expect something out of it too… but something about the way Tony offered and the way that he acted after told Bucky he wasn’t interested in trying to wheedle something out of Bucky later.

“Bullshit, no one gives out free handouts. So if you’re into sucking dick for favors-” Brock starts but Bucky cuts him off.

“Oh ew, out you go,” he says, shooing Brock out.

*

It was a well-known fact that Tony rather liked spoiling his friends or significant others. All two friends of his knew very well that if he liked a person enough they better be prepared to be spoiled. Neither Pepper nor Rhodey were comfortable with that and that, for Tony, was generally the mark of someone who wasn’t looking to take him money or looking for instant fame. Bucky, from what he learned about him in the last month, was actively disinterested in fame and he also had no interest in Tony’s money though he knew he was tempted.

So he made sure that he tried his best to talk Bucky into taking his school deal, especially since he now knew that Bucky’s interest in cultural studies wasn’t just a passing one. Tony recognized the names Bucky talked about from conversations he’s over heard from students in different departments and, one time, that horrible class that he, Pepper, and Rhodey all took together. It brought all of their averages down and they all nearly had panic attacks but they also learned that humanities were not for them.

“Hey gorgeous,” he says to Bucky as he walks out of his apartment. Tony knew that he looked pretty out of place but he also knew from experience how to give off a air of confidence that got people who might pick him out as an easy target to leave him be. Rhodey wasn’t from the best of neighborhoods and he taught Tony a thing or two. Plus he had a lot of natural confidence anyways.

Bucky blended into his own community well, obviously at home here because he’s lived in ratholes like this his whole life. It made Tony want to buy him something new, fancier, but he left that be until Bucky was slightly less freaked out by his wealth. His comment earns him a smile from Bucky and he grins in response. He never got tired of seeing Bucky’s smile, he looked so nice when he smiled.

“I am definitely not the gorgeous one out of the two of us,” he says, ducking his head in embarrassment.

Tony steps forward and wraps a hand around Bucky’s hip, “oh, I think you are,” he says, smiling up at Bucky. He was tall, with long hair he usually pulled back but the little bits that fell out and framed his face- mmm. The second he saw Bucky he knew he had to talk to him and luckily Bucky had proven to not be a total jackass and he had an interesting personality.

A light blush hits Bucky’s cheeks, something Tony knew he didn’t like, but he thought it was cute and he liked how expressive Bucky was. Sometimes he had a hard time reading people because he tended to miss social cues, but with Bucky things were pretty easy to figure out. “Thanks,” Bucky says, smiling again.

“Get a room,” someone, Steve, says as he rounds the corner to the apartment he shared with Bucky. He’s carrying a bunch of bags, groceries probably, looking a bit red in the face as he gets to the door. Bucky jumps away from Tony to help immediately and the fact that Steve actually lets Bucky help says a lot. Tony has learned that the plucky blonde was not fond of allowing people to help him, and he didn’t like to be treated like he was fragile even though he was. He had a lot of health issues according to Bucky, which meant a lot of medication and a lot of debt. Part of what made working for SI desirable to Bucky- they offered benefits that were actually worth it to have. It had been a freaking _battle_ with Howard to offer them but he eventually relented because good PR, same with increased wages.

And they did get some excellent PR for their efforts, not that that was why Tony made those suggestions. He was personally fond of keeping workers happy so they actually provided decent service to the customers rather than hating their jobs, which would certainly affect customer service. It worked- sales increased tenfold and Howard was forced to accept that Tony actually knew things about business- even if they cost a little at first.

Steve leans against the doorframe as Bucky takes the groceries in, huffing a little. “You okay?” Tony asks, earning a sharp look from the blonde. “Relax, I know you’ll be fine, I’m asking whether or not you’re fine now,” he says.

“I would be if another fucking hospital bill didn’t come in today,” he says, shaking his head sharply. Hmm. That gave Tony an idea. He watches as Bucky puts the groceries away while Steve shuffles over to the couch to sit down and catch his breath, thinking over his plan.

*

“You can’t just pay people’s hospital bills,” Bucky all but shrieks into the phone receiver.

“Why not?” Tony asks casually, as if it was totally normal to pay of massive hospital debts without consulting people first.

“Because that’s… that’s…” he makes a frustrated noise, unable to put his discomfort into words.

“I did the math you know, you’d be going into debt at least five hundred dollars every month paying those hospital bills,” Tony says as if Bucky didn’t already know that.

“We… we usually manage to break even with a little finagling,” he says.

“And what are you sacrificing, Bucky? You don’t exactly have wiggle room in your budget unless you don’t eat half the time, which I am _not_ letting you do. So just accept the damn gift,” he says. His tone is final, like there was no way he was taking back the payment, which Bucky supposed he couldn’t now anyways. He fucking _paid off_ the debt. Bucky sits down and puts his head between his knees to try and stave off the nausea, wondering if this was how Steve felt when Bucky offered to help pay for his schooling.

“Jesus, you show up out of nowhere and like… answer all my prayers, which is weird because I really want you to stop doing that now. I… I can’t afford to say no but shit, I can’t just take that kind of money, Tony. Why are you even doing this? You barely even know me,” he says. He showed up one day and offered the kind of support Bucky could only dream of and he was pretty awesome in every other way too. He’s smart, funny, caring, extremely generous, basically all of the things Bucky liked in a person. Even if he wished Tony would stop being so generous.

“Why wouldn’t I do this? Steve had well over a hundred thousand dollars in hospital debt- no one should have to pay to be healthy, how horrible is that? And I know you help him with it, and I know he isn’t comfortable with that because you can’t afford his debts either. I can, so I paid them off. What’s the point of having money if you can’t help people with it?” he asks.

Bucky lets out a sharp laugh, “yeah, if only rich people thought more like you,” he says bitterly. “Thank you,” he says after a moment of silence, “seriously, _thank you_. I… I don’t even know how to make this up to you.”

“Don’t. I didn’t help you out because I wanted something in return; I helped you so that you can actually afford to live in relative comfort. That’s all I care about,” Tony says. Bucky sticks his head back between his knees because he didn’t think talking shit about customers would lead to this.

*

Bucky starts cooking for Tony once he learns that he regularly forgot to eat. He couldn’t believe someone as rich as Tony didn’t _eat_. Tony spends a lot of time in his lab, though, working on his PhD thesis so Bucky starts bringing him food and water to make sure he ate at least once a day and stayed hydrated. His friend, Rhodey, also seemed fond of doing this so they started organizing meal plans somewhat by accident.

“Ley me guess,” Rhodey says, “he did something extravagant that you’ll never be able to pay back so now you feed him.”

“How’d you know?” Bucky asks, frowning.

“When my dad died he had a lot of debt and my ma couldn’t afford the funeral or any of the bills, the house, none of that. Tony paid for everything and damn dear killed my mother because she had a literal heart attack when she found out. He paid the hospital bills for that too,” Rhodey says, shaking his head. “I really don’t know how I managed to get so lucky with a friend like him, even if the dumbass forgets to eat regularly. He’s a genius and he can’t remember to _eat_.” He shakes his head and Bucky snorts- Steve was the same way when he worked too though. Always so absorbed in something that he didn’t notice that he hadn’t eaten in hours until Bucky gave him food.

“He paid off my best friend’s hospital debt. Which was a very large amount of money that still keeps me up at night,” he says. He sort of got used to having no sleep eventually though, even if he knew it wasn’t healthy.

Rhodey raises an eyebrow, “I’m guessing you were helping to pay for that?” he asks. Bucky nods and Rhodey smiles a bit, “and there’s why he liked you so much so fast. You told him that, didn’t you? Probably an offhand comment or something, something that didn’t seem important to you at the time?”

“Technically no, I said that I was helping pay for Steve to go to art school because he had talent and I didn’t. I mean it’s true, I didn’t expect a handout or anything,” he says. Though he could see how Tony might have taken it that way, not that it mattered because it turned out he was fine with footing the bill.

“He tends to find the ones that don’t. it’s weird how much people make an effort to scheme money out of him when all they have to do is ask and he’d probably do it,” Rhodey says, shaking his head. At this rate Bucky believed him.

*

Tony shows up at his apartment at three a.m looking like hell and Bucky lets him in immediately. “Sorry, I didn’t know where else to go and I didn’t want to worry Pepper or Rhodey and… I didn’t wake Steve up did I?” he asks self consciously.

Bucky goes to tell him that he hadn’t, Steve slept better when he was sick because his body was too weak to do much else, but Steve interrupts him. “Jesus Christ, Tony, what happened?” he asks, quickly crossing the room to examine Tony. Judging by the way Steve’s jaw clenches he doesn’t like what he sees.

Tony takes a small step back, “I’m fine, I just-”

“Cut the shit, who hit you? And don’t give me some stupid excuse about falling or something equally implausible situation we both know isn’t true,” Steve says in a tone that sounded too strong for his body. It always shocked Bucky how much strength was in Steve even when he didn’t look strong at all.

“You’re pushy,” Tony says almost defensively, taking another small step back.

“Or I know what you’re going through. I had a shitty father and my ma, she tried, but there was only so much she could do with a rampaging alcoholic and a sick kid,” he says. Bucky frowns because this was _news_ to him. Steve’s eyes flick back over to Bucky and his lips press together a little, “I didn’t want you to worry about me, and then he took off anyways so it didn’t matter anyways,” he says. To _Steve_ maybe, but Bucky still cared! How the hell had me missed _that_?

“Guess we have a pretty similar story, but unfortunately for me Howard isn’t disappearing anytime soon and I’m not stupid enough to think a judge would actually convict him. The rich and powerful don’t go to jail,” Tony says but the last line sounds hollow, like he’s had the line repeated to him so much that he internalized it. Bucky steps forward and wraps his arm around Tony, surprised when Tony immediately presses into him. They hold each other for a long time- until Steve comes back with tea that Bucky hadn’t even noticed he took off to make.

*

They curl up together on their fresh new mattress, Tony’s legs tangled around Bucky’s. “So, I took the liberty of applying to school for you. You got into an honors program,” Tony tells him.

Bucky half sits up to glare at him, “you are such an ass! I told you not to do that!” he says, even if he wasn’t really all that mad. He was sort of used to Tony’s grand gestures by now.

“What?” Tony asks, pulling himself up too, “every time I try and do something for you you find a way to refuse it. The only times you haven’t are when the things I do also help Steve- like paying his hospital debts, and the groceries, and this place,” Tony says, waving a hand around the new apartment they shared with Steve. Bucky had only accepted because he hadn’t wanted Tony anywhere near Howard Stark and Steve really did need a better living environment.

“But-” Bucky starts but Tony cuts him off.

“No buts. You have worked your ass off to help Steve, and you only ever accept generosity when it helps him too. It’s time to accept something that’s only for you. Go to school, study the things you have an interest in, even if you won’t get a job out of it,” he says. Bucky sighs and flops back onto the bed, unsure of how to do this. “It’s okay to do something for you,” Tony tells him earnestly.

“You should take your own advice,” he says because Tony, for all his show and flash, didn’t do much for himself, including eating of all things.

“This is how I help myself. I like helping people, it gives me warm fuzzy feelings and if there’s one thing you can count on me doing it’s pleasuring myself,” Tony says, grinning even though the joke falls somewhat flat.

“I… I don’t want to use you,” Bucky says eventually, unsure how else to word his anxieties.

“You aren’t. I’m offering something to you, accept it. You deserve it,” Tony says, pressing his face to Bucky’s shoulder. They stay like that for a long time, breathing in each other’s company and scents while Bucky thought over his options.

“I’ll go,” he says and Tony sits up, grinning widely in excitement, “but only if you make an actual effort to take care of yourself. You can’t rely on me and Rhodey to feed you forever, and Pepper can’t cook to save her life so she isn’t going to help you,” he says.

Tony’s excitement dampers a little, “I can’t cook either, might I remind you. I didn’t exactly need to learn how,” he points out.

“Fine, I’ll teach you how to cook some basic and easy things and then you’ll make an effort to eat and drink something that isn’t coffee so you can take care of yourself,” he says. “Then I’ll go to school, but I won’t if you don’t.”

Tony snorts, flopping back down to the bed. “You wanna know how I know you won’t use me” he asks and Bucky hmms in question. “Because I offered you the chance of a life time and you won’t do it unless I try to help myself. Just like you wouldn’t accept any help unless it was to help Steve. You have no interest in taking things for yourself and I love you for it,” he says, pressing into Bucky again.

“That’s because I would rather see my friends safe than me,” he says, “and I love you too.”


End file.
